This invention relates to vehicles such as taxicabs and particularly to distress signaling apparatuses that co-act with taxi roof lights to inform the public of the taxi's availability for hire.
Recently, many taxicab drivers and drivers of other commercial vehicles have become the victims of assaults, robberies, and other crimes. Often the perpetrators of these acts enter the cabs as passengers and sit behind the driver where the latter has little opportunity of defending him or herself. Municipal authorities have made attempts to protect such vulnerable taxi drivers. For example, some cities mandate that a rigid plastic shield divide the vehicle's passenger compartment into driver and passenger sections so as to protect the driver from direct attack by persons in the rear seat. Small openings in the shield allow the passenger to communicate with the driver and to pay the fare. While this affords the driver some protection, the latter is still subject to assault with a weapon and from other directions. Also, the shield alone is ineffective for alerting others of the driver's predicament. Moreover, the driver may need other types of help, for example when a passenger becomes ill in the cab.
Some attempts have been made to furnish taxi distress signals by adding visible signaling devices to the vehicle bodies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,304 to Saitta discloses an alarm apparatus mounted on top of the taxi roof light. The roof light is a conventional device that notifies the public whether the taxi is available for hire, is in use, or off duty. The Saitta apparatus sits on top of the roof light and projects light signals in four angular directions.
Such a device is unnecessarily complex and expensive. It also alerts a prospective perpetrator that the driver may use a distress signal and may cause the potential criminal to order the driver not to use his warning device. Other devices have similar disadvantages.